Les héros de la galaxie

Tis during the winter of lockdowns, and all was silent.

For I watched this opera with great interest, In the lasers and the explosions, And I enjoyed it.

Was life so simple then.

It offers rich commentary on war, politics, government, history, corruption, good and evil, etc.; the list goes on and on.

It would take too long to explain the social commentary going on in this series, but one thing that stands above the rest is how tyrants come to power. Is it through the people (democratic rule of the many over the few), or government control (aristocratic rule of the few over the many)? Does the goal of a perfect system begin as a good dream that becomes tainted, or is the dream already tainted? How long does it take a system to grow corrupt? Is the system at fault or are the people who run it? It asks a lot of these questions by setting up a corrupt (or rather decadent) democracy that is fighting a growing benevolent aristocracy that has just overthrown a tyrannical government. Of course, it addresses the problems of a single monarch's rule versus representative democracy; there are good things and bad things attached to each system.

The show creates political and moral problems and the characters on both sides must find solutions. The story itself remains very nuanced to allow the audience to make up their minds about the issues presented. There are advantages and disadvantages to all forms of government presented. That is, the story is not a one-sided narrative that forces its audience to choose a certain side. It is a complex and intelligent social commentary, which forces its audience to think about all kinds of things. I also really like how classical music forms the soundtrack; that is, classical pieces are the only music in the show-Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, Brahms, Schubert, Wagner, etc.

It is a masterpiece, but it can be very slow at times. It is basically the War and Peace of anime.

Gundam has been described as being to Japan what Star Trek is to the USA.

That would make Legend of Galactic Heroes (LOGH) like the Babylon 5 among anime! Word of this series is spread by showing at anime clubs, conventions and word of mouth by fans.

The break down is it's the story of the struggle between two empires and the two heroes at the center of it all, each fighting for their own reasons. On the Empire side there is Reinhard Von Lohengram, military ace and nexus point to bring about change within the Empire and do away with the corrupt nobles. On the side of the Free Planets there's Yang Wen-Li, who joined the military just to pay his tuition to be a historian. This makes him well versed in past military tactics and a genius in his own rights. Yang to wishes an end to the corruption in the so called democracy of his government.

The differences are the two characters approach, Lohengram wants more power to effect that change and Yang wants none. If you look at these two characters they want the same thing for their people, you think they could have been friends if the situations were different.

The series is epic in scope and legendary in it's execution. Making it one of the best anime series that hardly any one has ever seen. Which is why I liken it to the Babylon 5 of anime.

The series may never be brought to the US dubbed because of it's length, although the task of it would not be impossible seeing as the Urusei Yatsura fans have gotten the last DVD box set of that series. But with so many anime series now that are like a flavor of the month, a licensed release of LOGH seems like it will never happen.

8.4.2007 I have finally watched the last episode of this OVA series, and WOW! just doesn't seem to cover it.

One of best series I've seen in a long long time. This space opera is without equal. Words fall short of praising this creation.

Great character development in this anime. Its evident that a tremendous amount of effort was put into the production of this anime, with detailed background info on most characters as well as locations, history, art, culture and the scenery.

Each episode will leave you wanting for more. Stories have been carefully designed not to show any bias to any particular political view. Impartiality is the motto of this anime.

The animation is good, considering the anime is from the late eighties. But, animation is not at all the defining aspect of this anime. Its the story and the characters.

The soundtrack is exemplary. The tracks clearly voice the thoughts of some of the characters in the sage. Beautiful to listen to.

Overall, this anime is a true masterpiece. Comparing this with other creations from this genre would be a disservice to this anime.

Whilst the mentions of Babylon 5 aren't far off the mark, I'd say this is more akin to what Game of Thrones would want to be once it grew up - and was set mainly in space.

I recommend Failsafe to anyone with control of nuclear weapons, and this series to anyone who is in or intends to go into government-it covers timeless questions concerning power and how those in charge manipulate others, and themselves, and the justifications they use. A much more nuanced look than the 'evil vs good' plots dominating Western media - both fictional and in reality.